In August 2018, I wrote about our son Kyle being transferred to Nashville for a new role after one year working in Houston:
I’ll miss the young man I called ‘Little Buddy’ as a boy and now refer to as ‘Bud.’ I’ll miss my golf partner. I’ll miss the Sunday dinners at our house. I’ll miss having him help with ‘just a few small things’ whenever he visits. I’ll miss seeing his great smile. Yet, I know this is the way it’s supposed to be. We raise our kids to find their own paths and add value to the world.
While these three-and-a-half years didn’t pass ‘quickly’ – perhaps a global pandemic disrupted the space-time continuum – Kyle had a successful run in Music City… and ExxonMobil moved him back to HQ this month.
He’s adapting to the new position during a time of uncertainty in the energy industry and political turmoil around the world. He’s living with us for a while until the house he’s building is completed. We joined a golf-only club a few minutes from his new home.
Whatever the future holds, personally and professionally, I believe ‘Kyle with the Smile’ will be just fine… and I feel the same way about his generation. They experienced more disruptive events in the first 27+ years of life than mine did in our first 40.
